What You Need to Know about Marijuana Flowering Stages |

Everything You Need to Know About Marijuana Flower – Flowering Stages and Harvesting

Are you thinking of growing your own cannabis plant? There is a lot to the process that might surprise. But with patience will become a master cannabis grower.

Make sure this is legal in your state or country.

In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know about the different flowering stages of the cannabis plant and how to harvest it. Grab a chair and come along!

Before we get into the flowering stages proper, it is essential to know that the flowering stage of the life cycle of a marijuana plant is the most sensitive stage of its growth.

Prior to the flowering stage, your cannabis plant must have undergone a period of massive growth and utmost resistance to just about anything. This stage is dubbed the vegetative stage. At this stage, your marijuana plant basically spends its time growing. You could leave it for a few hours and come back to meet a bigger plant. Thanks to the Nitrogen in its nutrient.

However, the exact reverse is the case with the flowering stage. Here, your marijuana plant stops growing and focus its time and energy in producing buds and flowers – hence the name. Another noteworthy difference is the fact that the cannabis plant is prone to all sorts of attack at the flowering stage. This is the reverse situation of the vegetative stage, where it is surprisingly tough enough to withstand virtually any attack that comes its way.

Therefore, it is very critical to pay close attention to your marijuana plant during the flowering stage as this stage determines the yield of the plant.

Discussed below are the different stages of the flowering stage, when to harvest your marijuana plant, and how best to harvest it. Enjoy the ride!

Stages of flowering

Transition Stage (Week 1 to 3)

The transition stage is basically the same for cannabis plants grown outdoors and indoors. Typically, the cannabis plant looks out for shorter days. Having more dark period signifies flowering time and, as expected, your plant starts to transition from the vegetative stage to flowering stage. For marijuana plants grown outdoors, this usually commences in late summer when we have shorter days. However, in a controlled environment, you can send your plant into the flowering stage by using the 12/12 light regulation rule, where you get to expose the plant to a 12-hour period of light and 12-hour period of darkness. This dark period helps to communicate that it is time to leave the vegetative stage. So, your plant starts packing, ready for the next stage. The transition stage usually lasts for about 1-3 weeks. It may differ with the species involved. Furthermore, it is important to note that your plant will not enter the flowering stage automatically. It may undergo the flowering stretch period before leaving the vegetative stage completely. The stretch period, as the name implies, is the period during the 12/12 light rotation phase where the cannabis plant continues to grow rapidly and increase n height before transitioning into the flowering stage.

The First Flower (Week 3 to 4)

After vegetation comes the long-awaited marijuana flower. The beautiful moment when your plant shoots out its first flower or bud. At this stage, your plant has probably stopped growing. Now, you will have to pay closer attention to your plant’s health for it to survive through the flowering stage. This is the stage where the work begins. As it struggles to bring out the first flower and maybe some more, it is essential you give it the right environment and nutrient. You will have to keep an eye out for any disease attack as your plant is too weak to fight off the smallest of diseases at this stage. It is your responsibility to look out for yellow discoloration in the leaves and excessive death of the leaves. Yes, a few leaves dying is no cause for panic. It could be that they didn’t get enough nutrient. However, having more than a handful of dead leaves means something is wrong somewhere. You need to fix it as quickly as possible to ensure a great yield and the longevity of the plant.

In addition, it is very critical to pay close attention to its nutrient at this stage. Too much nutrient would lead to nutrient burn where all the leaves get burned. It is almost impossible for your plant to recover from this blow. This is why experts advise you pay good attention to your plant nutrient once it gets to the transition stage. Basically, you have to keep in mind that any little mistake could cause a grave impact on the growth of your plant and ultimately, its yield.

Bud Fattening Stage – ‘A Bud-ful Plant’ (Week 4 to 6)

From week 4 to 6, your cannabis plant is getting closer to maturity. At this stage, you should start seeing fat buds sticking out from every end. Yes, finally! Even better, the buds get fatter every day. Furthermore, your plant is past the very delicate stage, so you can slam the brakes on the uptight checkup. Yeah, take a break. Notwithstanding, it is critical you know that you are not out of the woods yet until harvest. Therefore, it is wise to also keep a close tab. But you can take a little break from the strict dieting and check up.

If you have grown the plant well enough, you shouldn’t have much troubles at this stage. If otherwise, you may have to struggle with bending the plant and fitting it into a safe distance from the light.

The Ripening Stage – ‘Just Before Harvest’ (Week 6 to 8)

Following closely behind is the stage of significant bud ripening. At this stage, your cannabis plant is all set out for glory – reproduction. It continues to blossom with the buds all getting ripe for harvest. It is not unusual for your plant to stop producing leaves or stems at this stage. But it is very much alarming if all the leaves are yellow. Don’t get me wrong, it is okay to start seeing yellow leaves, especially at the bottom of the plant. However, it is a call for concern if all the leaves – from the top to bottom are with the yellow color. Such cases indicate the death of the leaves usually caused by nutrient burn.

If everything goes well, your garden should still be in its glory – all green.

After Final Flush, Comes Harvest! (Week 8)

Yes, the last stage. I call it the groomer’s stage because this is the stage every groomer look forward to. The pay for all the work. But let’s not get carried away. There are a few things you need to know and do in week 8.

First, flushing is not a bad idea. In fact, as someone with knowledge in the field, I do strongly recommend that you flush your cannabis plants before harvest. Flushing is not rocket science. It is basically feeding your plant with only water for a few days or weeks.

Second, leave the leaves be. Sure, they tend to be going yellow at a rapid rate, however, that isn’t a cause for concern at this stage. Trust me, you have done the best you can. It is just the plant’s way of saying goodbye to the flowering stage. It is normal for more leaves to turn yellow with each passing day.

Third, don’t be tempted to harvest just yet. Wait a minute! Yes, wait. I know some strings are ripe for harvest, but you do not want to rush into harvest just yet. So, wait. And even better, the longer it stays in the field, the more concentrated the cannabis is. So, why rush? Also, this is no reason to leave it out in the field way longer than it should. You may end up harvesting nothing.

Lastly, there is no need feeding your plant with too much nutrient. The leaves are not turning yellow because of a lack of nutrient. Far from it. It is natural. Let the plant be!

When is the Best Time to Harvest?

This is probably one of the most tricky questions to answer why? It is because there is no hard and fast rule here. Nonetheless, here are a few signs that scream Harvest Me Now!

The leaves automatically turn yellow.
The pistils begin to go red.
Trichomes are not left out in the fun. They all turn milky white.Simply searching this question on organic search engines such as Google will leave you with a ton of methods all claiming to be the best method to harvest the cannabis plant. Well, here is one I recommend. What is the Best Way to Harvest Marijuana Flower